The ports of general interest moved 373 million tons during the first eight months of 2026, a figure representing a growth of 1.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data published by Ports of the State.
The accumulated balance until August maintains port traffic at levels higher than those of 2025, in a scenario conditioned by international geopolitical uncertainty and the evolution of fuel prices. The behavior of different types of goods has been uneven, with increases in liquid and solid bulk compared to the decline recorded by general cargo.
This last category concentrated 186.3 million tons between January and August, 0.6% less than during the same period in 2025. Within this category, conventional cargo increased by 1.2%, reaching 59.7 million tons, while containerized cargo decreased by 1.5%, with a total volume of 126.6 million.
The evolution measured in container units, however, shows a positive trend. Spanish ports recorded 12.5 million TEUs until August, 0.7% more year-on-year. Import and export traffic also maintained a positive trend, with a growth of 1.8% compared to the first eight months of 2025.
Solid bulk changed the trend of previous months and closed August with a total of 52.7 million tons, 0.5% more. In this behavior, the traffic of cereals and their flours, as well as other minerals, had an impact.
Growth was higher in liquid bulk, which reached 123.1 million tons and increased by 4%. The evolution of this segment was related to movements corresponding to the energy group, including crude oil, gasoline, and fuel oil, as well as chemical products.
For its part, ro-ro traffic accumulated 50.5 million tons during the first eight months of the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.2%.
Regarding the activity of merchant ships, Spanish ports received 108,461 units until August. The figure represents a reduction of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2025. Despite the lower number of calls, the total gross tonnage of ships increased by 0.5%.
Passenger traffic was above 29.1 million during the analyzed period, although it decreased by 0.8% compared to the first eight months of last year.
The data corresponding to the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras places its total traffic at 67.54 million tons between January and August, compared to 67.66 million accounted for during the same period in 2025. The year-on-year variation is -0.17%.
By type of cargo, liquid bulk reached 19.47 million tons in the Bay of Algeciras, 2.2% more, while solid bulk totaled 176,699 tons, with a decrease of 13.6%. General cargo registered 43.34 million tons, 1.9% less than a year earlier.
Ro-ro traffic of the ports managed by the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras reached 8.62 million tons until August, 1.4% more than in the same period of 2025.
In container movement, the Bay of Algeciras recorded 3.15 million TEUs during the first eight months of the year, compared to 3.13 million in the previous year, representing an increase of 0.8%. Only in August were 393,191 TEUs registered.
The number of merchant ships that used the facilities of the Bay of Algeciras decreased by 3%, with 19,858 units accumulated until August. Its gross tonnage stood at 349.9 million GT, 3.6% less than in the first eight months of 2025.
Passenger traffic in Algeciras and Tarifa reached 4.51 million movements between January and August, compared to 4.68 million registered a year earlier, representing a reduction of 3.6%. August concentrated 1.32 million passenger movements at the facilities managed by the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras.